Life of the Party
| | | | | }} | gueststarring = | | | }} | costarring = | | | }} | uncredited = | }}}} }} "Life of the Party" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of Angel and the ninety-third episode overall. Written by Ben Edlund and directed by Bill L. Norton, it was originally broadcast on October 29, 2003 on the WB network. As Halloween approached, Lorne threw a Halloween party for all the firm's clients and employees. During the gathering, Lorne's timely advice to his friends started happening literally, causing mischief. The events led to more trouble when Lorne's empathic subconscious began manifesting itself into a hulking demon. Synopsis As Halloween approached, Lorne threw a Halloween party for all the firm's clients and employees and even got a reluctant Angel to invite a powerful demon lord, named Archduke Sebassis, to the party. Other guests included the Fell Brethren, the Britzai Clan, Devlin, and a Thraxis Demon. During the gathering, Lorne's timely advice to his friends started happening literally. Winifred Burkle and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce got drunk after Lorne told them that their problem was that they were sober, and should be "three-sheets to the wind" already. Charles Gunn embarrassingly began relieving himself around the building after Lorne told him to "mark his territory." Angel and Eve had sex after Lorne told them to "get a room" due to the sexual tension he could sense. Finally, Spike began enjoying himself dancing, listening to the music, and becoming overly happy and agreeable once Lorne told him to "be a little more positive." There was more trouble when Lorne's sleep deprivation caused his empathic subconscious to manifest itself as a hulking demon. The deprivation itself was the result of Lorne having Wolfram & Hart remove his ability to sleep entirely, just like Madeline Chu in accounting. Lorne's subconscious caused much violence before the gang restored Lorne's sleep, which neutralized the manifestation. The chaos and destruction had a positive side, since most of Wolfram & Hart's employees felt that it made the party much better. Continuity *The changes caused by Lorne's increased empath abilities have a similar effect to the spell cast by Willow in Season Four's Something Blue. *During the party montage following Artode's untimely demise in the bathroom stall, a green demon can be seen on the dance floor wearing the same tunic worn by El Eliminati in Bad Girls. Body Count * unidentified human, killed by Devlin for his skin mask (only mentioned) * Artode, killed by Lorne's subconcious * Devlin, killed by Lorne's subconcious Behind the Scenes Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors *Several employees make comments about the previous year's party even though Lilah stated in Calvary that The Beast killed everyone who worked at Wolfram & Hart: lawyers, janitors, secretaries, people out sick that day, etc. Were that the case, then no one would know anything about the previous party because all of the people who attended the previous party are dead. However it's possible the employees were brought in from other branches. *Despite being a ghost, Spike is swatted by Lorne's alter-ego. The swat should have gone through Spike instead of sending him tumbling. However this could be construed as just a side effect of the spell. **That was not Spike, but rather one of Sebassis' "men" (pale complexion, black wardrobe - not unreasonable to mix up). Spike is scene standing in the very next shot. (edit note: assuming this is not a separate shot cut from the the version shown on Hulu) Music *Thelma Houston- "Don't leave me this way" sung by Lorne and his alter-ego in the cold opening *Robert J. Kral- original score *Defender 2002 OST - track 10, 'Earth - Rhone Valley' (Spike calls this, "The greatest song ever written".) Trivia *In the beginning, Lorne is pitching a "Grapes of Wrath" in space, and the struggle of intergalactic poverty. On the surface, this recalls the setting for Firefly. *While searching for Lorne's sleep, Fred comes across Madeline from accounting's "ennui" which basically means her boredom or listlessness. *Lorne finds Angel hiding from the party in his office, watching a hockey game. Actor David Boreanaz is a real-life Philadelphia Flyers fan. *Eve says she went to UC Santa Cruz, the alma mater of Buffy writer/producer Marti Noxon. International titles *'German': Der Lorne-Effekt (The Lorne-Effect) *'French': Une fête à tout casser (A smashing party) Other *This episode is Lorne-centric Quotes nl:Life of the Party Category:Angel Season 5